Blind Faith “Blind Faith”

Classic Rock,Pop,RnB
The story of Blind Faith “ was ever such a star-crossed project more appropriately named? “ is so thoroughly documented that there’s no need to elaborate upon it here. (For those around but inexplicably absent from Planet Rock during 1969, and for those then unborn, the excellent booklet in this CD provides a concise and honest history.) Objective examinations of the band’s music, however, are thinner on the ground.
In June 1969, fired by the blaring press announcements of Blind Faith’s formation, I hitch-hiked to London’s Hyde Park to see the free concert that would prove to be their only UK appearance. Far smaller than the hype, of course, the performance drew mixed reviews, but I recall being well enough impressed by the quality songs with Steve Winwood’s solid, soulful fronting on vocal and Fender Rhodes and Eric Clapton’s uncharacteristically diffident but technically faultless guitar playing. On encountering the film of the show on TV almost exactly forty years later, I found no reason to change my mind.
When the LP was announced I was early in the queue. When it proved to be the first album to be released in the UK in stereo only, I had to purchase a stereo-compatible tone arm and cartridge and fit them to my old mono record player simply to accommodate the new purchase. I was impressed with the record then, and remain so today. I’m well aware that this is not a universal view, and will read comments to this post with interest.
Of the original six tracks, Winwood’s Had To Cry Today and Clapton’s Presence Of The Lord are rock music of the highest quality, and IMHO feature Steve’s voice and Eric’s guitar at their absolute zenith. A younger Clapton once said that his ambition was to make an audience cry with just one note; the final bend of his solo on Presence damn nearly makes it happen. Can’t Find My Way Home is a charming unplugged ensemble rendition spoilt only by rather obtrusive cymbal splashes from  Ginger Baker “ the only blemish on an otherwise excellent Jimmy Miller production –  whilst Baker’s own Do What You Like stands comparison with Steely Dan’s Do It Again in its rambling linear structure and funky feel. The weakest offering, Sea Of Joy, is rescued by a superbly melodic violin solo from Rick Grech. The compositional strength of the tracks is undeniable; Had To Cry Today was strong enough to justify covering by Joe Bonamassa as the title track of his album, whilst Faith’s tasteful reinvention of Buddy Holly’s Well All Right was covered almost verbatim by Carlos Santana.
The original 35-minute vinyl album may have represented just about all the quality material Faith had to offer, but there was no filler. By contrast the latest reissue CD, the deluxe 2-CD version, includes as bonus tracks several alternative (and inferior) versions of the original songs, a couple of other songs not deemed (quite rightly) strong enough to release first time round, and a second discful of rehearsal jams of historic interest only. New converts should concentrate on the first six tracks here, and also if possible seek out the DVD of the Hyde Park concert, which is by no means faultless as cinema but is an above-average record of a historic sixties concert.

Blind Faith

The story of Blind Faith “ was ever such a star-crossed project more appropriately named? “ is so thoroughly documented that there’s no need to elaborate upon it here. (For those around but inexplicably absent from Planet Rock during 1969, and for those then unborn, the excellent booklet in this CD provides a concise and honest history.) Objective examinations of the band’s music, however, are thinner on the ground.

In June 1969, fired by the blaring press announcements of Blind Faith’s formation, I hitch-hiked to London’s Hyde Park to see the free concert that would prove to be their only UK appearance. Far smaller than the hype, of course, the performance drew mixed reviews, but I recall being well enough impressed by the quality songs with Steve Winwood’s solid, soulful fronting on vocal and Fender Rhodes and Eric Clapton’s uncharacteristically diffident but technically faultless guitar playing. On encountering the film of the show on TV almost exactly forty years later, I found no reason to change my mind.

When the LP was announced I was early in the queue. When it proved to be the first album to be released in the UK in stereo only, I had to purchase a stereo-compatible tone arm and cartridge and fit them to my old mono record player simply to accommodate the new purchase. I was impressed with the record then, and remain so today. I’m well aware that this is not a universal view, and will read comments to this post with interest.

Of the original six tracks, Winwood’s Had To Cry Today and Clapton’s Presence Of The Lord are rock music of the highest quality, and feature Steve’s voice and Eric’s guitar at their absolute zenith. A younger Clapton once said that his ambition was to make an audience cry with just one note; the final bend of his solo on Presence damn nearly makes it happen. Can’t Find My Way Home is a charming unplugged ensemble rendition spoilt only by rather obtrusive cymbal splashes from  Ginger Baker “ the only blemish on an otherwise excellent Jimmy Miller production –  whilst Baker’s own Do What You Like stands comparison with Steely Dan’s Do It Again in its rambling linear structure and funky feel. The weakest offering, Sea Of Joy, is rescued by a superbly melodic violin solo from Rick Grech. The compositional strength of the tracks is undeniable; Had To Cry Today was strong enough to justify covering by Joe Bonamassa as the title track of his album, whilst Faith’s tasteful reinvention of Buddy Holly’s Well All Right was covered almost verbatim by Carlos Santana.

The original 35-minute vinyl album may have represented just about all the quality material Faith had to offer, but there was no filler. By contrast the latest reissue CD, the deluxe 2-CD version, includes as bonus tracks several alternative (and inferior) versions of the original songs, a couple of other songs not deemed (quite rightly) strong enough to release first time round, and a second discful of rehearsal jams of historic interest only. New converts should concentrate on the first six tracks here, and also if possible seek out the DVD of the Hyde Park concert, which is by no means faultless as cinema but is an above-average record of a historic sixties concert.

“Presence of the Lord”

:D CD Reissue | 2001 | Polydor | amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl |  1969 | Atco | ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Complex “Complex”

Garage,Pop,Psych,RnB

Complex

Complex is a super-rare and long-out-of-print holy grail private press classic. Revered by the almighty Acid Archives (they’ve got trophy photos of it staged next to bottles of fine Scotch!), as “one of the ‘Holy Trinity’ items of rare British psychedelia (the other two being Dark and Forever Amber),” Complex somehow sounds distinctly like mid-60s American garage rock – so much so that I find its 1970 record date quite hard to believe.

They tear open the album with a fire-breathing combo organ lead;  Funny Feeling is a 3-part tune revealing two factors of the Complex sound – intelligent and endearing compositions filtered through fuzzy, raw energy. Green Eyed Lucy’s vibrating bass guitar groove helps strike the balance between blues, soul, and unbridled teenage garage. Gratuitous guitar shredding on Witch’s Spell and “sensitive” boppers like Norwegian Butterfly, seemingly written to get the lead singer, whose confident voice is a sweet surprise, some groupie action.  Self Declaration features an epic Iron Butterfly-esque prog-organ solo and throughout the album a distinct and drastically lo-fi sound is present from start to finish.

Then there’s my favorite track – the unexpected, wildly out-of-place but somehow perfect Josie. It’s a surprise that this group of white suburban kids could pull off a convincing reggae dancehall number, but a joy to hear the squeaky combo organ bouncing along with the ragtag orchestra backing this weird little number.

Complex is a scary kind of record, the rarity and grungy sound are sure to dissuade casual listeners, but seekers will find the sounds much more accessible than the ghastly psychedelic cover implies. It’s really just an oldies garage record with soul; you can play it for friends without clearing the room! Begging for a reissue.

“Josie”

Read the full story of Complex at Marmalade Skies.
:D CD Reissue | Wooden Hill | oop | search ebay ]

Goose Creek Symphony “est. 1970”

Americana,Country Rock,Psych

Est 1970

In the intersection of country and rock, sometimes  a band comes along who clearly bit the country bug enough to get the right chops, but for some reason not enough to take it entirely serious. To my ears, Goose Creek Symphony’s debut, Established 1970, has a an overly slack-jawed approach – perhaps a cool nod that this hillbilly thing is just for kicks.  But much like Ween’s brilliant Nashville foray, 12 Golden Country Greats, the music is too damn good to write off.

Charlie’s Tune exemplifies my issue: they sing a little like phony bumpkins with a jaw harp, though the guitar is choogling and it grooves just right, you’re still embarrassed to play it in public. Luckily their cover of Satisfied Mind reads perfect and may be the one of the best I’ve heard. Talk About Goose Creek takes the irony even further, however, the jaw harp louder, ‘home on the range’ lyrics cheezier, but the groove is even more infectious with some bad ass drum work taking things for a psyched out ride.

Mostly, only a few tracks are this polarizing. Beautiful Bertha and Confusion are solid stoned rockers, Raid on Brush Creek and Big Time Saturday Night both nail The Band’s americana strike zone, and closing ballad Symphony Music rounds out the record with breezy rural rock.

I have been totally split on Est. 1970 but finally given in, and hard. There is no way to disqualify Goose Creek’s authenticity, their Arizona/Kentucky roots are for real and they’ve stayed true to their boldly unique style for many years now. I guess I have had the same problem with the Dillards in that the singing can, sometimes, just sound too faux-billy (or maybe it’s records that open with I’ll Fly Away). All I’ll say now is I love the record regardless, and you be the judge.

“Talk About Goose Creek And Other Important Places”

:D CD Reissue | 2000 | Goose Creek | buy from Goose Creek | amazon ]
:)  Original Vinyl | 1970 | Capitol | search ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

John Mayall “Blues From Laurel Canyon”

Psych,RnB

Blues From Laurel Canyon

John Mayall is of course the Godfather Of British Blues, first recording in 1965 and still touring and recording prolifically today, well into his seventies. My favourite of his many albums is this offering from 1968, which is both a collection of original blues-based songs with contemporary psych overtones and also a diary in music of his three-week vacation in Los Angeles that summer: either a song cycle or a concept album, according to your own definitions, but certainly unique among the slew of straightforward blues albums being produced by white performers on both sides of the Atlantic at the time.

Starting with the roar of a jet swinging across the stereo plane – a device cheekily lifted from the Beatles’ White Album – the record chronicles Mayall’s discovery of the heady delights of late sixties LA, his first sojourn in Laurel Canyon where he would later make his permanent home, his stay as a guest of Canned Heat with whom Mayall struck up a strong and lasting rapport “ later, both Harvey Mandel and Larry Taylor would leave Heat to join Mayall’s band “ and, in considerable detail, his mission to get laid. It ends with a rueful recollection of the brief love affair and a moody anticipation of returning home to the UK.

In fact this is a collection of many moods, from joyous exploration of glamourous new surroundings, to irritable self-examination following a bust-up with an unidentified companion, to deep and intimate relations in the bedroom. The changes of mood are emphasised by Mayall’s constant switches of instrumentation “ he was already virtuosic on piano, Hammond, and mouth-harp and capable on guitar “ and by the careful segue of each track into the next, plus the pitching of each song in a different key. Every one of the twelve keys of the chromatic scale, except F#, is used (try playing blues in Db or Ab, if you will).

Backup is provided by the rock-solid rhythm section of drummer Colin Allen and 18-year-old bassist Stephen Thompson, while guitarist Mick Taylor, on his final studio outing with Mayall prior to joining the Stones, wields his Les Paul always tastefully and often excitingly throughout. Production by Decca’s veteran producer Mike Vernon is commendable for those eight-track days.

My standout tracks are Ready To Ride, on which Mayall’s overactive hormones fuel some explosive harp work, The Bear, whose intro pays tribute to a well-known Heat riff before segueing into a delightful piano-led country blues dedicated to Bob Hite, and Miss James, in which the Hammond reels through jazzy changes in their best Jimmy Smith style. But individual tracks cannot do justice to this album; for best effect it demands to be heard in sequence at a single sitting.

“Ready to Ride”

:D CD Reissue | 2007 | United UK | amazon ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1968 | Decca | search ebay ]
;) MP3 Album | download ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

The Rationals “Think Rational/Fan Club LP”

, , Garage,RnB

Think Rational

The Rationals are the most important early Detroit/Ann Arbor group.   Although they only had a few huge regional hits, they were highly influential on the Detroit/Ann Arbor club scene and their music has aged gracefully.  Maybe not the first rock n roll group to hail from the Mid West region but certainly one of the best, The Rationals had a unique garage/teenbeat sound early on; eventually they would take a drastic left turn into hard soul and heavy Detriot rock n roll during the late 60s.

In the summer of 2009 Big Beat reissued all the group’s early singles and outtakes on double disc anthology Think Rational. This first time legit reissue of the group’s early years is not without its flaws.  For one, Big Beat did not include the group’s Not Like It Is single, instead we get an underdub of the Cameo 45 that’s about 30 seconds longer and without the handclaps.  Also, some of the Fan Club LP (only two were pressed back in 66/67!) is missing. Two instrumentals, Wayfaring Stranger (a very cool folk-rock surf instro) and Jam, plus alternate takes of some early singles are not included (Gave My Love, Little Girls Cry, and Look What You’re Doing).  While these 3 tracks are part of the original Fan Club LP the alternate versions aren’t all that different from the officially released singles (sound quality differs slightly on the alternate takes).  I’ve been told that the Fan Club LP will be released on vinyl sometime in the near future though I’m not sure which label will be doing the honors.  With that said, Think Rational is a great package, evenly divided between the group’s garage and soul eras.  Without doubt this is one of the best reissues of 2009.

“Wayfaring Stranger”

:D 2CD Reissue | 2009 | 101 Distribution | purchase ]
:) Original Vinyl | The Rationals | search ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Bintangs “Genuine Bull”

Garage,Punk,RnB

Genuine Bull

Commonly referred to as the Rolling Stones of the Lowlands, Bintangs are also one of the longest lived Dutch groups (they’ve been at it since the late 50s).  Prior to Genuine Bull, Bintangs had released 3 albums in the late 60s/early 70s and some fine garage rock/nederbeat singles a bit earlier (seek out 65’s “Splendid Sight” and 67’s “Please Do Listen”).   After years of personnel changes, Bintangs had finally stablized a solid lineup in 1974 and released arguably their finest album to date.

Genuine Bull was first issued in 1975.  Produced by Steve Verroca and recorded in Rockfield Studios in Monmouth, Wales, the lp is usually considered one of the best by a Dutch band.  Exile On Main Street must’ve been a major inspiration for these guys but I also hear, more distantly, the primitive, tribal sounds of Captain Beefheart and Dr. John etched deep within Genuine Bull‘s grooves (another point of reference: Roy Loney and the Flamin’ Groovies).  The album’s foundation is blues-rock (a medium Bintangs would never stray from) but this fine lp’s tense guitar playing and angst fueled vocals will also appeal to garage-rock and proto punk fans.  The first three tracks of Genuine Bull show off this lean, hard rock attack and the world is a better place for it.    The guitar work on Stone’s inspired gem “Hobo Man” is imaginative, “Insight Inside Out” is a raw garage rock/hard rock shouter, and “Agnes Grey,” one of the LP’s finest numbers, is downright epic.  Other tracks such as “New Orleans, New Orleans” and “Biyou Woman” stand out for their evil hoodoo swamp rock thang.   And while the latter description might sound strange knowing this band hails from the Netherlands,  Bintangs make their odd stew of American roots music work for them in spades.  Also of note is “Do John,” another swampy rhythm & blues number with a killer Bo Diddley beat, greasy harp and stellar guitar solos.   Genuine Bull is loaded with great moments like these; there’s plenty of character to be found here.

Overall, I can’t imagine anyone complaining about this group’s delivery.  Bintangs’ songwriting is very solid; the musicianship while reckless in a Rolling Stones/Faces manner, is still very impressive at heart, showing off lots of skill and talent.   Groups from the Netherlands always had a knack for mutating American blues and rock n roll traditions into something original and bracing.  Had the Rolling Stones released a record like this in 1975 it would have been seen as a blessing.  Genuine Bull is a much better album than It’s Only Rock N Roll or Black And Blue and stays true to rock n roll’s roots whereas the Rolling Stones of the mid 70s were studio slick and formulaic.

Bintangs have never really received their due.  It took almost 25 years for Genuine Bull to be reissued for the first time in 1999 (on cd).   The 2009 deluxe version (double disc) by Corazong is highly recommended as it includes tons of extra tracks and rarities.  So if you’re into pure rock n roll, ballsy, bluesy and decadent, check this great album out.

“Hobo Man”

;) MP3 Album | 2009 | Corazong | download ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1975 | search ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

PODCAST 14 Jangle

Podcast

rick

Running Time: 36:53 | File Size 50.6 MB
Download: .mp3
To subscribe to this podcast: https://therisingstorm.net/podcast.xml [?]

“JANGLE TOWN”

Choir I’d Rather you Leave Me

West Coast Pop Art Exp Band Transparent Day

Buffalo Springfield Burned

Ides of March Give your Mind Wings

Beau Brummels Doesn’t Matter

Baroques There’s Nothing Left to do But Cry

Leaves Girl from The East

Gremlins Only Thing on My Mind

Circus Maximus You Know I got the Rest of my life to go

Merry Go Round On Your Way Out

Dovers People Ask Me Why

Wailers It’s You Alone

Turtles Wanderin’ Kind

Merrell Fankhauser HMS Bounty Girl (I’m waiting for you)

Love Gazing

The Dawn of Punk-Blues

, Punk,RnB

Few periods in pop music have a more distinctive and immediately identifiable sound as the ’80s. And after hearing most of the garbage that choked up the airwaves (and still on those nostalgic 80s shows/stations) it seems that’s about the only thing it had going for it. But well buried in the gut wrenching cesspool of cheesy synthesizers, lifeless drum machines and teased hair an ugly breed of bottom feeders worked in futility to claw their way out of the muck. Among them was one particularly grotesque strain “ an ungodly rocknroll hybrid that can be best described as Punk-Blues. Don’t ask if it’s even a real genre (for what it’s worth, All Music is now using it), but there was a rash of like-minded roots-bashing bands in the 80s that would aptly fit that tag. Of course the origins can be traced way back to Howlin Wolf’s earth shattering electrified blues onto the cranked-up snarl of the Pretty Things, CCR and Capt. Beefheart”and so on¦

Some essential albums:

Gun Club Fire of Love (1981)

Fire of Love

The first album to successfully wed the harrowing delta howl of Son House with the intensity of punk rock. Basically they did to the blues what Cramps did to rockabilly. Brimming with reckless slide guitar and twisted southern gothic lyrics that’ll have the PC crowd pulling out their hair, this is an original and utterly astounding blast of pure energy.

Gun Club – For the Love of Ivy

:) Vinyl | 1981 | Ruby | ebay ]

Gun Club Miami (1982)

Miami
Extremely dark with a more pronounced country feel than its predecessor, no other rocknroll album has captured the unsettling eeriness of pre-war blues/country. Complaints abound regarding the mix, but it never bothered me in the least. Ranging from haunting, desert-road-weary C/W of Mother of Earth to unforgettably fierce covers of John Hardy and Jody Reynold’s Fire of Love. One of the greatest albums ever. Really.

Gun Club – Mother Of Earth

:) Vinyl | 1982 | Animal | ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Also recommended: Death Party EP, the Las Vegas Story

Poison 13 s/t (1984)

Poison 13
Led by guitarist Tim Kerr (Big Boys, Jack O Fire etc), Austin’s Poison 13 were like a snottier version of the Gun Club with equally slicing slide guitar wreckage and buzzsaw power chording. Biggest Mistake may be the quintessential punk-blues cut. Their reworking of Willie Dixon’s The Seventh son is nothing less than genius. Not a weak cut.

This album, along with their fine 1985 EP First you Live and early demos, was released on the Subpop collection Wine is Red, Poison is Blue.

“Poison 13 – My Biggest Mistake”

:) Vinyl | 1984 | Wrestler | ebay ]

Alex Chilton Like Flies on Sherbert (1979)

Like Flies On Sherbert

Chilton strung out on smack slobbering over a stack of Chess and Sun 45s. It may be an acquired taste, but this charming disaster of a roots-rock album is loaded with amazing tracks like Hey, Little Child and My Rival. This album’s endured a far longer residence on my turntable than any Big Star release.

Alex Chilton – My Rival

:) Vinyl | 1979 | Aura | ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Also recommended: Tav Falco and the Panther Burns Behind the Magnolia Curtain (Chilton on guitar) and Blow Your Top EP

The Scientists Heading for a Trauma (1985)

Heading for a Trauma
Off-kilter, noisy swamp-rock from this crew of Aussie minimalists. Funhouse era Stooges violates CCR while Suicide pukes in their faces. Something like that. Frontman Kim Salmon groans and shrieks over barrages of hypnotizing fuzz guitar. Murderess in a Purple Dress is a force to be reckoned with. Also includes a nice rendition of Beefheart’s Clear Spot.

The Scientists – Swampland

The Scientists The Human Juke Box (1987)

The Human Jukebox
Human Jukebox shows the Scientists willfully wiping away any last trace of commercial potential they might have had by unleashing this severely damaged six song album. Making their earlier recordings almost seem polished, this masterwork of trash shifts from the grinding, cheap-piano-driven Brain Dead to the delightfully droning blues crawl of Shine.

Since their songs appeared on different albums, often overlapping, Sympathy for Record Industry’s CD collections are a perfect source for their best tracks.

The Scientists – Human Jukebox

:D CD Reissues | Sympathy for the Record Industry | search amazon ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

Alan Vega S/T (1980) / Collision Drive (1981)

Alan Vega Collision Drive

Speaking of Suicide (Vega actually described his former band as New York City Blues), the headband-clad madman released two great solo albums with (gulp) drum machines. No need to fear, in Vega’s able hands it works brilliantly. It’s more on the rockabilly side (I’ve heard it described as electro-billy), but tracks like Bye Bye Bayou show him sloshing around in the same swampland the Scientists inhabited (Scient. even covered Vega’s Raver). Raw guitars (albeit rather mechanical “ in a good way) managed to sneak on board, but Vega keeps a foot firmly grounded in the bleak territory Suicide roamed.

Some more similar-minded bands: the Birthday Party and Nick Cave’s early work “ Pussy Galore “ Blood on the Saddle “  the Gibson Bros “ Tav Falco and the Panther Burns “ Honeymoon Killers “ the Fall – Charlie Pickett — and of course the Cramps.

Alan Vega – Bye Bye Bayou

:) Original Vinyl | search ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

The 90s was also redeemed by a largely unnoticed (that is until the White Stripes came around) resurgence of the style, with great bands like the Gories, the Oblivians, The Chrome cranks and the Cheater Slicks giving the stale US punk scene a much overdue kick in the ass. Stay tuned for part 2.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band “Symphonion Dream”

Country Rock,Folk,Psych

Symphonion Dream

Symphonion Dream was the last album recorded by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band before Jim Ibbotson left and the band began to move away from its traditional jug band/bluegrass roots. The big question is why in 1975, when the rest of the First Division of country-rock practitioners “ the Eagles, Poco, Souther-Hillman-Furay et al “ had been travelling for some time in the direction of simplified, stadium-friendly AOR, the NGDB went the other way and produced what I think is the best, and surely the quirkiest, psychedelic country album ever. The tunes are the band’s usual mix of originals and highly personalised covers; however this time the tunes are wrapped up in a sonic kaleidoscope of sound effects, seaside amusement park soundtracks, studio backchat, disconcerting segues, fade-in/fade-out interludes and odd instrumentation. So many familiar tunes, so many unfamiliar and occasionally unsettling treatments.

The album is bookended front-and-back by the eerie screech of an Aeolian harp, with a lonely tolling bell as prologue, finally fading out to the silvery chiming of the Symphonion “ a large Victorian musical automaton sounding like an orchestra of musical boxes. The original songs feature some truly offbeat ideas, with John McEuen picking Flamenco on solo banjo “ perhaps influenced by Bernie Leadon’s banjo opus Journey Of The Sorcerer on the Eagles’ One Of These Nights – and hammering the same banjo to produce steel band-like tones on the calypsoish Joshua Come Home. The more conventional tracks move smoothly from Hey Good Lookin’, played Bob Wills-style with Linda Ronstadt duetting Ibbotson on vocal, via a roistering Texas honky-tonk rendering of JD Souther’s The Moon Just Turned Blue, to the straight-ahead country-rock, all Telecasters blazing, of Bayou Jubilee. However, perhaps more memorable are the swampy, drone-laden treatment of that hoary old standard, The Battle Of New Orleans, replete with coda of marching drums and bagpipes, and the thumping bluegrass version of the Everlys’ maudlin (All I Have To Do Is) Dream, which revisits the Dirts’ version of Mike Nesmith‘s Some Of Shelley’s Blues. Musicianship and harmonies throughout are as accomplished as we’ve come to expect from these guys, with McEuen’s fiery five-string banjo usually well to the fore, and production by Bill McEuen (any relation?) is faultless.

Exactly what the Dirts were trying to achieve with this album escapes me “ perhaps a belated country-rock Sergeant Pepper? There is no conceptual theme as such, though the first four tracks on what was the second side seem to purposefully convey an atmosphere of the southern California coastline. Whatever: I enjoy eclectic albums that display a multiplicity of styles within, or even across, genres. This one never escapes being country-rock, but boy, does it stretch the boundaries.

“The Battle of New Orleans”

:D CD Reissue |2003 | Capitol | buy ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1975 | United Artists | ebay ]
8-) Spotify link | listen ]

uReview: Neil Young “Trans”

Electronic,Pop,uReview

Trans

I was a late bloomer to Neil Young’s music and still no expert. But I’m curious about this synthesized 1982 departure called Trans. What’s the score on this one?

[ratings]

“We R In Control”

:D CD Reissue | 1999 | Polydor | buy ]
:) Original Vinyl | 1982 | Geffen | ebay ]